Udta Teer review: Dhurandhar meets comedy of errors in Ayushmann's spy caper

Udta Teer movie review: Udta Teer is a spy comedy that cleverly blends humour with a tale of mistaken identity and patriotism, featuring Ayushmann Khurrana and Sara Ali Khan. The film's light-hearted approach to espionage, coupled with sharp writing and a strong supporting cast, makes it an entertaining watch.

In Short

• Aakash Kaushik uses shifting loyalties and misunderstandings to drive the narrative
• Vikrant's troubled marriage adds personal turmoil to his covert professional life
• Rahul Bose's restrained performance makes Varman's hospital sequences especially amusing

In one scene in Udta Teer, Ashfaq (Suhail Nayyar) tells Bilal (Ayushmann Khurrana), "Sunny Deol bana baitha hai, tu Tara Singh nahi Ashraf Ali hai." That line sums up the film rather well. A Pakistani spy loses his memory and begins behaving like a patriotic Indian, ready to do anything for the country. The catch? He remembers his love for his country but has forgotten which country it is.

Written and directed by Aakash Kaushik, Udta Teer is a comedy of errors set in the world of spies, secret agents and shifting loyalties. The film finds humour in its lead character’s identity crisis. It may not reinvent the spy genre, but it delivers enough laughs to keep things entertaining.

The story begins in Pakistan, where terrorist Azhar Maqsood (Mukul Dev) threatens revenge following Operation Sindoor. Intelligence inputs suggest that he has crossed the border and is somewhere in India. In Baramulla, Kashmir, we meet Vikrant Thapar (Ayushmann Khurrana), an officer with India's Counter Terrorism Squad (CTS), who is involved in an operation to track down Maqsood.

But Vikrant has secrets of his own. His real identity and loyalties are not what they appear to be, and his past is tied to a larger conspiracy involving Indian and Pakistani intelligence agencies. As the story unfolds, a series of unexpected events puts him in a situation where he must question who he is and what he stands for.

Meanwhile, CTS chief Varman (Rahul Bose) is trying to uncover a mole within his team. Vikrant's personal life is hardly in better shape. His marriage to Yamini (Sara Ali Khan), who works in the Defence Ministry, is on the verge of falling apart. With professional secrets and personal problems colliding, the stage is set for a series of chaotic happenings.

The film adds a comic twist to the familiar spy-thriller setup. The humour comes from mistaken identities and the gap between what the characters know and what the audience knows. Kaushik uses this confusion to keep the comedy and the spy plot moving together. It has shades of Dhurandhar, but with comedy at its heart.

The best part of Udta Teer is how it plays with its protagonist's identity crisis. A man trained to serve one country suddenly becomes fiercely protective of another, without realising that his understanding of himself has changed. His new-found patriotism creates some amusing situations, especially when those around him struggle to make sense of his behaviour.

The Sunny Deol reference adds humour by using familiar Bollywood imagery to highlight the confusion in the story. The song Bhul Gaya Sab Kuch (Julie [1975] title song) also appears at the right moment, making a simple joke work well.

The supporting cast gets its moment to shine too. The hospital scenes involving Rahul Bose's Varman provide some of the funniest moments, while Sandeep Anand adds to the laughs. Ashfaq's reactions to the unfolding chaos are entertaining, and the film keeps finding ways to use its characters' conflicting interests for comic effect.

The humour works because it comes naturally from the situations rather than forced jokes. The spy plot sets things up, while the characters' reactions add to the funny situations. The film balances its national-security theme with a light tone, making it more of a comedy with a spy story than a thriller trying too hard to be funny. There is no over-the-top patriotism shown, and the characters never get preachy, which in this scenario is easy.

Ayushmann Khurrana fits the role well. He handles the different sides of his character (Bilal and Vikrant) with ease, making the confusion easy to follow without overdoing it. His comic timing works especially well in scenes where his actions make sense to him but leave everyone else bewildered.

Suhail Nayyar is equally good as Ashfaq. His exchanges with Ayushmann and Rahul Bose add to the film's comic appeal, and he handles the comic situations without trying too hard. And, his performance makes you echo his favourite line to him – Laale kamal da banda hai tu.

Mukul Dev, as Azhar Maqsood, adds humour to the film. His introduction, where he swipes on Hinder, a Pakistani dating app, sets the tone for the film’s unexpected comedy. The late actor leaves a mark in his scenes.

Sara Ali Khan has limited screen time as Yamini, but she is convincing in what she is given. Her troubled marriage with Vikrant adds a personal angle to the story, although the character could have been developed further.

Ram Kapoor brings credibility to his role, while Rahul Bose is another highlight, and a lot of his comedy comes from just his eyes, quite literally. Brijendra Kala makes good use of his understated screen presence, and Gulshan Grover and Raghubir Yadav add to the supporting cast.

While Udta Teer revolves around national security, its USP is its comedy. The music adds to the fun, too, with its quirky lyrics complementing the film's humour. Bollywood references and well-timed jokes add to the fun, while the supporting cast ensures that Ayushmann Khurrana isn't carrying the comedy alone.

Aakash Kaushik's writing brings together espionage, mistaken identities and patriotism, finding humour in the gap between who the protagonist is and who he believes himself to be.

If you wanted Dhurandhar with more humour, this is it. Udta Teer is in cinemas now.

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